This invention relates to mounting plastic water bottles on tubular frame members and more particularly, this invention relates to a clamp for mounting a water bottle holder on a handlebar of a vehicle, particularly a bicycle.
Refillable plastic water bottles with a removable top have come into wide use by people during extended indoor or outdoor exercise. Holders have been developed to carry the bottle on the person or on exercise apparatus during exercising. In the case of bicycles, the plastic water bottles are inserted into a wire cage by interference fit. The cage has a mounting plate which is secured to tubular members of the bicycle frame so as to be within reach of the bicycle rider while riding. The frame is tapped with a pair of spaced threaded openings. The plate has a set of apertures matching the spacing of the openings and the plate is secured by passing threaded bolts through the aperture and threading them into the openings. Such cage mounting systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,386,721 (Shimano) and 4,437,596 (Shook).
Tapping the frame can weaken the frame and can chip and/or crack the protective barrier paint and sealer layer exposing the tubing to corrosion. Tapping the tubing at the factory requires locating the water bottle in preset locations. Also, long distance bicycle enthusiasts can carry tube mounted air pumps and tool kits. It gets very crowded. Also small frame bicycles for children may not have enough space to mount the cage or to allow easy insertion and removal of the water bottle.
Mounting the water bottle cage below the frame is not the best ergonomic location and it can be hazardous. The rider must bend, reach and pull the bottle to remove it from the tight interference with the cage while balancing the bike with one side of his body and body weight off center. The rider does not have as good a control of the bike with one hand on the handlebars and while in a bent position. The rider is vulnerable to falling if the thin tires hit a piece of debris on the road or to hitting a parked or a moving vehicle.
The Boughton patents disclose bottle holders with the clamps attached to a split sleeve water bottle holder tube. Clamp is split in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the bottle holder. Sinyard""s handlebar clamping straps are connected to vertical flange having spaced apertures for receiving fasteners to mount a water bottle cage. Bottle cages with spaced apertures on the rear wall are disclosed in the Schlanger patents. Shook shows a set of spaced cradle blocks to mount a water bottle cage parallel to bicycle tubing. An after market belt clamp bracket for mounting water bottle cages with axis parallel to the tubing is disclosed by Champagne. Link discloses a tube clamp for mounting a water bottle case parallel to tubing. A U-bolt pipe brace is disclosed by Bailey.
A clamp for adapting the conventional water bottle cage to transverse mounting on bicycle tubing is provided by this invention. The clamp is split into two mating, thin parts. The front part has a rear semi-circular cavity having a radius just slightly less than the diameter of the tubing of the vehicle and a front face having tapped bores spaced the same distance apart as the mounting plate on the conventional bottle cage. The rear face of the front part also has a set of tapped bores above and below the semi-circular cavity.
The rear part has a matching semi-circular cavity and apertures on each side of the cavity spaced the same distance apart as the rear facing tapped bores on the first part.
The clamp is attached to tubing such as a handlebar by placing the two parts onto the tubing with the apertures aligned with the tapped bores and placing a set of screws or bolts through the apertures into engagement with the threaded bores.
A water bottle cage can be transversely mounted on the clamp by aligning the holes in the mounting plate with the tapped bores in the front flange and screwing fasteners through the holes into the tapped apertures in the front flange.
The water bottle can now be inserted into the cage. The water bottle faces the rider. The bottle can be pulled out of the cage and used without bending sideways or taking ones eyes of f the road. This is very important during aggressive riding in abusive environments such as BMX racing or biking on rough mountain trails.
The clamp can be located anywhere on the handlebar without restricting use of other equipment. A center mounted bracket would prevent use of a center light. The clamp can be made out of a light alloy such as aluminum or an engineering plastic such as Nylon. The semi-circular gripping surfaces can be roughened or contain ridges to increase frictional hold with the tubing. Bushings can be used to mount the bracket on tubing having smaller diameters such as children""s bicycles or tricycles. The tapped apertures can readily be lowered on the front flange to locate the bottle cage below the handlebar to prevent contact with the rider should he/she flip forward over the handlebars. The clamp can also be rotated to position the cage in a plane below and parallel to the handlebars. The bracket of the invention can be formed by machining or extrusion.
The water cage clamp of the invention is readily fabricated and is simple to use. It positions the water bottle in sight of the rider. It is ergonomic to use and frees the tubing below the seat for holding other apparatus such as air pumps, tool bags, accessory bags, etc. The clamp can be used on the tubing of other exercise equipment such as stationary bikes or strollers used for jogging.
These and many other features and attendant advantages of the invention will become apparent as the invention becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.